Marcus Morris Rumors | Hoops Rumors

L.A. Notes: LeBron, Johnson, Clippers, Morris

February 11th, 2020 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

LeBron James‘ name was one of 44 included on USA Basketball’s preliminary list of finalists for the program’s 2020 Olympic roster on Monday. Many of the players on that list won’t get the opportunity to suit up for Team USA in Tokyo, but it’s safe to say that one of the final 12 roster spots will be reserved for James — if he wants it. For now, he’s not ready to fully commit, as Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times relays.

“It’s always predicated on: one, my body, how my body is feeling at the end of the season — I hope to make a long playoff run,” James said. “And then where my mind is and then where my family’s head is. So it’s a lot of factors, but my name is in the hat.”

It was no surprise that James and Anthony Davis were among the 44 names on Team USA’s list on Monday. Kyle Kuzma‘s inclusion wasn’t a shock either, since he participated in the program’s World Cup camp last fall. Two more Lakers were also on the list — JaVale McGee and former Team USA center Dwight Howard.

“Spectacular,” James said of the Lakers having five players on the list. “It’s amazing. We’re very well represented with the Lake Show representing the red, white and blue. So it’s a pretty cool thing.”

Here’s more on the Lakers and their L.A. rivals, the Clippers:

After being waived by Phoenix on Monday, Tyler Johnson is on track to clear waivers on Wednesday. Chris Mannix of SI.com writes that both the Lakers and Clippers are “expected to check in” on the veteran guard.
Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register examines the Lakers‘ options on the buyout market, suggesting that injured big man DeMarcus Cousins may not be the player released if the team needs a roster spot, since he’s close to Anthony Davis and others on the roster.
Speaking of Davis, he told reporters on Monday that he’s confident the Lakers have a championship-caliber roster even after standing pat at the trade deadline (video link via ESPN).
The Clippers were active at the deadline, acquiring Marcus Morris from New York in a three-team trade. Jovan Buha of The Athletic spoke to the new Clippers forward about joining a title contender, the team’s 2019 free agent pitch to him, and his fit. “You can put me anywhere,” Morris said. “I can space out really well, give guys space, score it any way. I’m just ready to do what it takes for the team to win. I’m excited to get started, but you’re going to see how well I fit. … I think it’s going to be very beneficial for both sides.”

Scotto’s Latest: Gallinari, Nunn, Pacers, Nuggets, More

February 10th, 2020 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

When the Thunder and Heat discussed a potential Danilo Gallinari trade leading up to last week’s deadline, James Johnson, Kelly Olynyk, Kendrick Nunn, and draft compensation were among the various assets that came up in talks, league sources tell Michael Scotto of Bleacher Report. Miami reportedly wanted to extend Gallinari’s contract as part of a deal, but couldn’t agree to terms with his camp, which is one main reason the trade didn’t happen.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe wrote last week that he believed the Heat could’ve acquired Gallinari without surrendering any of their young players like Nunn. So even though his name came up in discussions, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Thunder would have insisted on his inclusion, depending on what other pieces were involved.

While Gallinari remained with the Thunder for this season, Scotto suggests the Heat and Knicks could be among his potential suitors this summer. Miami clearly has interest, and created some cap flexibility for 2020/21 by moving Johnson and Dion Waiters last week. New York, meanwhile, will have cap space and is hiring veteran CAA agent Leon Rose as its new president of basketball operations. Gallinari is a CAA client.

Here are a few more noteworthy tidbits from Scotto’s look at the post-deadline landscape:

The Knicks and Pacers discussed a possible Marcus Morris trade. According to Scotto, a package that featured Aaron Holiday, Doug McDermott, and T.J. Leaf was “briefly kicked around,” but didn’t end up going far.
McDermott’s name also came up in discussions about a potential Pacers trade with the Bucks involving Ersan Ilyasova, says Scotto. It’s not known which team initiated those talks.
Before the Cavaliers traded for Andre Drummond, they called the Pacers to ask about Myles Turner‘s availability, per Scotto. Indiana has remained firm on keeping Turner, though many executives expect the team to eventually break up its Turner/Domantas Sabonis frontcourt.
The Nuggets discussed the possibility of trading Gary Harris, Malik Beasley, and Juan Hernangomez as part of a package for Bulls guard Zach LaVine or Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, sources tell Scotto. New Orleans set a very high asking price for Holiday, while LaVine was said to be “off-limits” for Chicago, so Denver didn’t get far on either front.

Clippers Notes: Morris, Beverley, Noah, Collison

February 8th, 2020 at 10:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers believe newly-acquired Marcus Morris will have a smooth transition to his new team, writes Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. Morris was averaging a career-best 19.6 points per game with the Knicks and shooting 43.9% from beyond the arc before Thursday’s trade. Clippers officials expect him to provide an upgrade offensively over Maurice Harkless, who was sent to New York in the deal.

“There may be no better fit than Marcus,” general manager Michael Winger said.

In addition to his scoring prowess, Morris brings another dose of on-court toughness that the organization prides itself on. He’s joining a pair of former teammates in Patrick Beverley and Patrick Patterson, who played alongside him in Houston.

“My brother back with me. It’s on,” Beverley tweeted after the trade was announced.

There’s more Clippers news to pass along:

Coach Doc Rivers said the team did plenty of background work on Morris before the deal and was pleased with the responses, tweets Jovah Buha of The Athletic. “A lot of research goes into when you make a trade, especially with this team and where we’re trying to go,” Rivers said. “You can’t take any chances. You have to make sure guys are a good fit. … All the intel we had was very positive.” Rivers plans to experiment with some smaller lineups using Morris and JaMychal Green surrounded by three shooters (Twitter link).
Meeting with reporters tonight, Morris said the Clippers made a positive impression when he met with them in free agency, even though he wound up with the Knicks, relays Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). “I could tell that the main goal here was trying to win a championship and that’s something that I wanted to be part of,” Morris said. “Obviously last summer some things didn’t go the way I thought it would, but we here now, $15MM richer.”
Joakim Noah remains an option for the Clippers, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. A minor injury forced Noah to cancel a workout with L.A. just before training camp opened in September, but the 34-year-old center has been targeting a return once buyout season began. A source tells Heavy that Noah is fully healthy and “has been working on maintaining his conditioning and is hopeful that he’ll play this season.”
Even if Darren Collison decides against returning to the NBA this season, that may not mark the end of his career, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy. Collison, who is expected to decide soon and prefers to join the Clippers or Lakers, could put off his comeback until summer.

Clippers Acquire Marcus Morris In Three-Team Trade

February 6th, 2020 at 7:37pm CST by Luke Adams

7:37pm: The Clippers, Wizards, Knicks have issued press releases officially announcing this three-team trade sending Morris to the Clips.

Meanwhile, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic clarifies (via Twitter) that the Knicks only have the rights to swap their own 2021 first-round pick with the Clippers’ 2021 first-rounder — New York can’t swap Dallas’ 2021 first-rounder selection for L.A.’s.

1:45pm: The Clippers and Knicks have reached an agreement on a trade that will send Marcus Morris to Los Angeles, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, the return for Morris will feature Maurice Harkless and multiple draft picks, including the Clippers’ 2020 first-rounder.

The deal will also include a third team, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who reports that the Wizards will acquire Jerome Robinson from the Clippers, sending Isaiah Thomas to L.A.

The Knicks will get Detroit’s 2021 second-round pick from the Clippers, as well as the right to swap first-round picks with the Clippers in ’21, reports Ian Begley of SNY.tv (via Twitter). That pick swap will have top-four protection, adds Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (via Twitter). Draft-and-stash prospect Issuf Sanon will also go to New York (from Washington), tweets David Aldridge of The Athletic.

When Charania previously reported that the Knicks and Clippers were in serious discussions about Morris, Jovan Buha of The Athletic suggested that Los Angeles was offering Harkless, Mfiondu Kabengele, Terance Mann and its 2020 first-round pick. The final package for the Knicks is heavier on draft assets than NBA players, with Kabengele and Mann remaining in L.A.

Morris, 30, is having a career year in New York, with averages of 19.6 PPG and 5.4 RPG to go along with a .442/.439/.823 shooting line in 43 games (32.3 MPG). The Knicks were initially believed to be leaning toward keeping him and trying to re-sign him in free agency this summer, but changed course following Steve Mills‘ removal from the president of basketball operations role earlier this week.

Morris will join a talented Clippers frontcourt that features star forwards Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter), the team plans to start all three players when everyone’s healthy, alongside Patrick Beverley and Ivica Zubac.

The Lakers were among the other teams with interest in Morris, but were reportedly unwilling to include both Kyle Kuzma and Danny Green in a potential deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Deadline Rumors: Warriors, Oubre, Valentine, J. Robinson

February 6th, 2020 at 1:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors remain in the market for further deals after reaching agreement on a trade that sends D’Angelo Russell to Minnesota for Andrew Wiggins, tweets Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. If nothing else happens today, more roster shake-up is expected this summer.

Antony Slater of the Athletic notes that Golden State has traded six of the 14 players on its roster in the past two weeks (Twitter link). In addition to Russell, Willie Cauley-Stein, Alec Burks, Glenn Robinson III, Omari Spellman and Jacob Evans have all found new homes.

There’s more deadline-related news to pass along:

The Suns are listening to offers for Kelly Oubre, but aren’t close to making a deal, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Post. The Magic are among the teams that have made a call to Phoenix.
The Bulls aren’t any closer to trading Denzel Valentine, relays K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, (Twitter link).
The Wizards are hoping to acquire Jerome Robinson from the Clippers, tweets David Aldridge of TNT. They liked Robinson in the 2018 draft, but he wound up in L.A.
The Knicks contacted the Pacers about point guard Aaron Holiday, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. The attempt was made before Steve Mills was fired as team president, and it’s unclear if there has been any more discussion. Indiana reportedly brought up veteran forward Marcus Morris, who is headed to the Clippers, as part of the return.

Clippers Talking To Knicks About Marcus Morris; Lakers Won’t Offer Kyle Kuzma

February 6th, 2020 at 1:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers are in serious talks with the Knicks about acquiring Marcus Morris, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

L.A. is offering Maurice Harkless, Mfiondu Kabengele, Terance Mann and its 2020 first-round pick, sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link). Harkless’ $11MM contract would be needed to help match Morris’ $15MM salary.

There has been progress in talks since this morning, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). However, it doesn’t appear the Clippers are willing to part with Landry Shamet, whom the Knicks would like to add.

The Lakers, who were also interested in Morris, have decided not to make Kyle Kuzma available, Charania reports (Twitter link). The Knicks aren’t willing to send Morris to the Lakers without Kuzma involved, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne (Twitter link).

Clippers, Lakers Pursuing Marcus Morris

February 5th, 2020 at 4:11pm CST by Luke Adams

Reports earlier today suggested that the Knicks are expected to move Marcus Morris before Thursday’s trade deadline — it’s just a matter of where.

Los Angeles is one potential landing spot for Morris, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link via Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints), who said today that the Clippers and Lakers are competing for the veteran forward. As Woj pointed out, if either L.A. team lands Morris, it would have the added bonus of keeping him away from a top rival.

Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times provides some additional info on those talks, tweeting that the Knicks are interested in Kyle Kuzma in talks with the Lakers and Landry Shamet in talks with the Clippers. Kuzma is the more attainable player of the two — the Clips are unwilling to part with Shamet, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

While the Clippers have a logical salary-matching piece in Maurice Harkless, the Lakers’ path to absorbing Morris’ $15MM salary is less straightforward. A three- or four-player package of lower-cost guys could work, but Turner suggests in his tweet that the teams may be discussing Danny Green. The Knicks would want to flip Green to another team, according to Turner. For what it’s worth, I’d be pretty surprised if the Lakers are willing to move both Kuzma and Green for Morris alone.

Meanwhile, Marcus Morris may be the more sought-after twin, but his brother Markieff Morris is also drawing interest from contenders, including the Lakers and Clippers, reports Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer (via Twitter).

O’Connor (Twitter link) names the Bucks, Sixers, Celtics, and Rockets as other clubs that have interest in Markieff. The Pistons’ forward hasn’t had the type of season his brother has, but wouldn’t cost as much in terms of a trade package and has a modest $3.2MM cap hit.

Knicks Rumors: Russell, Morris, Trier, Caruso, Ujiri

February 5th, 2020 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks continue to pursue Warriors point guard D’Angelo Russell with the trade deadline 24 hours away, according to Newsday’s Steve Popper and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

Reports earlier in the week had revealed the Knicks’ interest in Russell. However, those stories were published prior to Steve Mills‘ ouster from the front office, so it wasn’t clear if the remaining group – led by interim head of basketball operations Scott Perry – would continue to go after the fifth-year guard.

While today’s reports confirm that the Knicks remain interested in Russell, Charania hears that New York’s proposed package haven’t been enough to close the gap and meet Golden State’s asking price.

As we noted last night when we checked in on the Timberwolves’ pursuit of Russell, the Warriors were said to be seeking at least one of Minnesota’s own unprotected first-round picks — preferably in 2021, which is expected to be a strong draft than 2020. The Wolves were reportedly dangling Brooklyn’s lottery-protected 2020 first-round selection and their own protected ’20 first-rounder as part of their offer.

Presumably, the Warriors will be seeking at least one unprotected Knicks first-rounder in talks with New York. However, there’s no consensus within the Knicks’ front office on the team’s willingness to give up first-rounders to land D-Lo, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

Newsday’s Steve Popper (Twitter link) is hearing that Marcus Morris will be moved before the deadline. Marc Stein of The New York Times conveys a similar sentiment, tweeting that the Knicks know they can trade Morris and now it’s just a matter of where.
In addition to touching base about Kyle Kuzma, the Knicks and Lakers have also discussed Allonzo Trier and Alex Caruso, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Those talks took place before Mills’ ouster and didn’t advance, sources tell Begley.
According to Marc Berman of The New York Post, Knicks owner James Dolan would like to move fairly quickly on the team’s front office search, possibly so there’s a new president in place for a head coaching search in the spring.
An in-season search would reduce the likelihood of the Knicks landing Raptors president Masai Ujiri, Berman notes. However, a source suggests to Berman that might be okay with Dolan, who values loyalty and may not want to push Ujiri to break his contract in Toronto. Dolan may also been wary of Ujiri using the Knicks for leverage in extension talks with the Raptors, the source tells Berman.
Within a separate SNY.tv article examining possible front office targets for the Knicks, Begley writes that R.C. Buford (Spurs) and Kevin Pritchard (Pacers) aren’t realistic options. Both executives are on long-term deals and Buford has a CEO title in San Antonio.
Recently hired by the Knicks as a brand consultant, Steve Stoute is a “prominent voice” within the organization right now, according to Popper (Twitter link), who says Stoute is involved in the front office search.

Knicks Have Had Exploratory Kyle Kuzma Talks

February 4th, 2020 at 4:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks and Lakers have had exploratory discussions about a possible Kyle Kuzma trade, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Charania follows up by tweeting that several contending teams are expressing interest in Marcus Morris. He doesn’t explicitly state that the Lakers are among those teams, but it seems safe to connect those dots.

While Morris could be a nice fit for the Lakers, it would be a challenge for the club to build a trade package for him with Kuzma as a centerpiece. Los Angeles would need to send out at least $10MM in salary and Kuzma makes just under $2MM. With Kentavious Caldwell-Pope unlikely to waive his no-trade clause to accept a trade to New York, that means the Lakers would have to package three or four players to get up to $10MM.

The Knicks added several veteran power forwards during the 2019 offseason, signing Morris, Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, and Taj Gibson in free agency. However, there’s no guarantee that any of those players will be with the franchise for the long term. Only Randle has a fully guaranteed salary for next season, and the man that signed off on all those deals – former president Steve Mills – was dismissed today by the team. It’s possible new interim head of basketball operations Scott Perry envisions a young player like Kuzma as a more logical long-term investment at the four.

Let’s round up a few more Knicks-related items…

While it remains to be seen what sort of compensation the Raptors would want for Masai Ujiri, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv that a team in a similar situation last year asked for two first-round picks when another club inquired about a top executive under contract. That exec was considered to be a tier below Ujiri, according to Begley, who suggests that any Knicks’ discussions for the Raptors’ president of basketball operations would probably have to start with a baseline of two first-rounders.
Within that same story, Begley identifies several other veteran executives who could make sense as targets for the Knicks, including Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon. Sources tell Begley that Langdon has fans within the organization.
Kevin Durant‘s manager Rich Kleiman could be a candidate for the Knicks’ front office opening, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. A longtime fan of the team, Kleiman has previously expressed interest in running the Knicks. Sources tell Berman that Kleiman would likely want to hire Mark Jackson as New York’s head coach if he were in position to do so.

Knicks Make Marcus Morris Available

February 4th, 2020 at 1:40pm CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of Steve Mills‘ ouster, the Knicks may reconsider potential paths at this week’s trade deadline, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who notes that Mills was just on the phone on Monday exploring deals, including a possible pursuit of D’Angelo Russell.

Most notably, Wojnarowski suggests that ownership pushed the front office to change course on its plans for Marcus Morris. The Knicks, who were said to be “hell-bent” on retaining and trying to re-sign Morris, have now made him available in trade talks, says Woj.

Marc Berman of The New York Post reported earlier this afternoon that the debate over whether to retain or shop Morris was one issue Mills and GM Scott Perry were divided on. Based on Wojnarowski’s report, it sounds as if Perry was in favor of exploring the trade market for the veteran forward.

Morris, who is on an expiring $15MM contract, is enjoying a career year, with 19.6 PPG and 5.4 RPG with a .442/.439/.823 shooting line in 43 games (32.3 MPG). He has reportedly drawn some league-wide interest, including from the Clippers, and could potentially net the Knicks a first-round pick.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

Although it appears Perry is making the decisions in the Knicks’ front office for now, the franchise has begun its search for a new president. According to Wojnarowski and ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne (via Twitter), New York has given some thought to hiring a player agent for that role, like the Warriors (Bob Myers) and Lakers (Rob Pelinka) have done.
Sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link) that CAA’s Austin Brown is among the candidates being internally considered by the Knicks. One of CAA’s top agents, Brown represents players like Zion Williamson, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Russell, per Begley (Twitter link).
Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports classifies the Knicks’ trade discussions with the Hornets involving Julius Randle and Terry Rozier on Monday as serious. However, he hears that Charlotte balked at taking Dennis Smith Jr. in a deal.
League sources tell Goodwill that Knicks owner James Dolan has had intermediaries get in touch with top executives around the NBA to ask, “What would it take to get you to take over this franchise?”